People try to squeeze onto a packed R1 bus at Tunney's Pasture Station. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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But I think we also need a little perspective.

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When I first started working downtown, I lived near Blair. My commute was quick and easy. Since then, I’ve moved to Findlay Creek, and my commute is now at least an hour and 15 minutes each way.

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I knew what I was signing up for when I moved farther from downtown.

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That’s the part of this conversation I think we’re missing. Many people living in Orléans, Barrhaven, Kanata and other suburban communities have chosen to live farther from where they work. That choice can come with a bigger house, a yard or a neighbourhood that better suits their lifestyle, but it also comes with a longer commute.

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Of course Ottawa should provide reliable transit and do what it can to keep people moving. But we also need to acknowledge that the distance between our homes and workplaces is, at least partly, a consequence of our own choices.

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Sometimes, the commute is simply the price of the house we chose.

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Liz K, Findlay Creek

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A recent Guardian article notes that BC professor of wildland fire Mike Flannagan calls for a federal emergency agency to deal with wildfires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. Last June the Canadian Senate made a similar recommendation. Canada, sadly, is the only G7 nation without such an organization and given the current 900 or so wild fires across the country it begs the question ‘what are we waiting for?’ Such an organization could also focus on the causes, the most obvious being the climate crisis. But with so many billions of dollars invested in pipelines and ineffectual carbon capture perhaps PM Carney lacks the will to address the obvious.

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Mark Fornataro, Victoria

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My kids and I have always enjoyed going to this theatre. Please open the theatre for The Odyssey! It would be a delight for everyone living in NCR and beyond! — Artyom Zozulinsky

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Basically what happened to the theatre at the museum is the Government of Canada experts sucked all the fun out of the IMAX Theatre and managed to kill it. The experts did not want to continue funding it because it could not pay for the salary wage envelope for all the museum staff. Instead they made a switch to a 4k projector, which is a technology you can acquire for any home theatre on Amazon for as low as $80.99. However, you can be almost certain the 4K projector and the new screen at the museum cost taxpayers a lot more. Nevertheless, after some more strategic planning to ensure sustainability the theatre was closed down. The Canadian Museum of History’s experts have now moved on to more sustainable initiatives, such as silent disco nights and electronic dance music events. — Steve Jackson